© 1983 by O. W. Steinberg, St. Paul, MN
This postcard shows the Metrodome sports stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota as it looked on April 15, 1983, the day after a snowstorm caused the dome to collapse. The stadium opened in 1982, and snowfalls had already caused the roof to collapse three times.
The Metrodome has an air-supported roof that is made of two layers, with a dead air space between the layers. After the roof collapses of the early years, strategies were adopted to prevent the roof from collapsing again. The next collapse didn't occur until December 2010 when there was a severe storm with heavy snow and high winds. That collapse was much more serious than the earlier ones. On December 12, the roof had a catastrophic collapse and three panels tore open. A fourth panel ripped open a few days later.
Until the last couple of years, the Metrodome was home to the Twins baseball team, the Vikings football team, and the University of Minnesota football football and baseball teams. The Twins and University football team have moved to new stadiums, but the Metrodome is still home to the Vikings. After the roof collapsed, the Vikings had to play their last two 2010 "home" games elsewhere. One game was played in Detroit and the other was played in TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota. In February 2011, it was determined that the entire Metrodome roof had to be replaced at an estimated cost of $18 million.
The Metrodome has an air-supported roof that is made of two layers, with a dead air space between the layers. After the roof collapses of the early years, strategies were adopted to prevent the roof from collapsing again. The next collapse didn't occur until December 2010 when there was a severe storm with heavy snow and high winds. That collapse was much more serious than the earlier ones. On December 12, the roof had a catastrophic collapse and three panels tore open. A fourth panel ripped open a few days later.
Until the last couple of years, the Metrodome was home to the Twins baseball team, the Vikings football team, and the University of Minnesota football football and baseball teams. The Twins and University football team have moved to new stadiums, but the Metrodome is still home to the Vikings. After the roof collapsed, the Vikings had to play their last two 2010 "home" games elsewhere. One game was played in Detroit and the other was played in TCF Bank Stadium at the University of Minnesota. In February 2011, it was determined that the entire Metrodome roof had to be replaced at an estimated cost of $18 million.
Wow, I wasn't familiar with the history of the stadium at all. It was doomed all right, maybe cursed!
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